Ch 10: The World’s Number One Resort

“Is your manager available?” Tang Huai glanced around before getting straight to the point.

“And you are?” The female staff member looked a bit suspicious.

“I’m here to discuss a collaboration.” Tang Huai handed over his business card.

The staff member took it, and upon seeing the bold characters “Great Tang Overseas Resort,” her eyes flickered with a bit of surprise, followed by a knowing expression.

Her name was Yu Suxia, 32 years old, and she’d been working at Spring Travel Agency for seven years. Spring Travel was one of the larger agencies in Shengze, with more than twenty branches in the city alone. Given their scale, they regularly had potential partners, such as scenic areas, approaching them for collaborations. Additionally, it wasn’t unusual for them to deal with people pitching insurance, health supplements, and restaurant promotions.

“The manager is out on a business trip. I’m the acting branch manager, so feel free to discuss things with me.” Realizing Tang Huai wasn’t a customer, Yu Suxia’s enthusiasm waned slightly. If Tang Huai wasn’t so well-dressed and good-looking, she might have seemed even less interested.

It was around 11 a.m., and there weren’t many people in the office. After asking a part-timer to bring some water, Yu Suxia began flipping through the promotional materials Tang Huai had brought.

“Great Tang Overseas Resort… The name sounds decent, but these days, with people’s living standards improving, the tourism industry is booming. There are A-level tourist spots popping up everywhere. Some villages with mountains and water just throw in a few guesthouses and call themselves a tourist destination. The industry is full of chaos.” Yu Suxia wasn’t overly impressed. She casually flipped through the brochure, and her attention was piqued when she saw the location.

The Pacific Ocean… It was indeed overseas.

“It’s located in the eastern Pacific, a newly developed island resort. Here’s the relevant documentation, along with videos of the island’s scenery.” Tang Huai answered straightforwardly, handing over his phone, which held a gallery of images and short videos of the island, including Blue Sea Lake.

Yu Suxia scrolled through the pictures, which seemed genuine enough. “And how exactly does the resort intend to collaborate?”

“Great Tang Resort will provide professional tour guide services, aiming for top-tier guest experiences and reputation. As the collaboration grows, we’ll introduce dedicated transportation services like cruises and flights,” Tang Huai explained confidently.

Travel agencies typically profit from transportation, accommodation commissions, meal discounts, ticket rebates, and shopping commissions. Since Great Tang Resort was just starting out and Tang Huai had no authority over pricing, he couldn’t offer discounted rates or commissions. The travel agency’s potential profit would need to come from transportation and other services.

While Tang Huai appeared composed, internally, he was a bit helpless. If Sora Island were as famous as Hawaii or the Swiss Alps, travel agencies would be coming to him rather than the other way around.

“We’ll contact you if there’s interest,” Yu Suxia said with a polite smile. In her mind, the proposal wasn’t particularly appealing. Even if Great Tang Resort offered exclusive transportation services, why take the risk of promoting an untested overseas destination when well-established places like Sanya or Hainan promised better profits?

If it weren’t for Tang Huai’s good looks and demeanor, she might not have even entertained the conversation for this long.

“I’ll leave some promotional materials and business cards here. Please reach out if there’s interest.” Tang Huai, understanding the situation, left the items on her desk before walking out.

Yu Suxia watched him go, shaking her head slightly. With no customers around, she didn’t mind chatting with someone as pleasant as Tang Huai. However, she wasn’t about to take a chance on what seemed like a questionable project. After shaking her head, she returned to organizing the agency’s travel listings.

Meanwhile, Tang Huai grabbed a quick dumpling lunch nearby and resumed his day of ground-pounding promotional work.

He knew his efforts would likely yield little, but he figured it was worth trying. Hopeful as he was, the reality was sobering. After spending the entire afternoon going around the city, there was no significant progress.

There were over 80 travel agencies in Shengze, and it took Tang Huai three days to visit them all, yet he still hit a wall. Tang Huai had done his fair share of flyer distribution during his university days, which helped him keep up the persistence for three days straight. Otherwise, anyone with a thinner skin might have given up.

Three days later, Tang Huai gave up on trying to work things out with the travel agencies. He decided to head to Mexico to try his luck there. Before leaving, he gave some final instructions to Zhao Xingkai. This time, Zhao Xingkai confidently assured him that he would manage the store well and that the previous issues wouldn’t happen again.

Tang Huai nodded. Seeing that there were no further concerns in Shengze, he bought a flight ticket from China to Mexico City. The distance between the two countries is over 17,000 kilometers, with a flight time of 16 hours. Tang Huai had booked business class, and as soon as he boarded the plane, he put on his eye mask and went straight to sleep.

While Tang Huai was peacefully resting on his flight, business continued as usual at Spring International Travel Agency.

Spring International was a nationwide chain with over 500 branches spread across cities large and small.

The Spring branch in the Zijin district of Shengze ranked in the top five for sales in the area. With the manager out for a month on a training trip, Yu Suxia had been promoted to temporary manager. The current manager was highly skilled and, after the training, would be transferred to the provincial capital, leaving the Shengze branch manager position open. Yu Suxia had a good chance of being promoted, and this month as acting manager was her assessment period.

However, Yu Suxia wasn’t happy. She had been feeling extremely anxious lately. It was July, the peak travel season, and in previous years, the Zijin branch would typically generate between 300,000 to 500,000 RMB in sales. But now, with only five days left in the month, the total revenue hadn’t even reached 200,000 RMB. As she looked at the financial report, showing only 190,000 RMB in sales, she felt a headache coming on. If the branch didn’t meet the minimum target for the month, the manager position might be filled by someone else.

“Yu Jie, Jiang Yaoyao and Qian Dasong are here,” a staff member in uniform nudged her, bringing Yu Suxia out of her thoughts. She turned her gaze to the entrance.

A woman dressed in a simple but elegant dress, with long, flowing hair and an air of grace, walked in. Next to her was a middle-aged man with a big belly.

The two were Jiang Yaoyao and Qian Dasong.

Jiang Yaoyao and Qian Dasong were the classic “May-December” couple. Jiang Yaoyao was 20 years old, fair-skinned and beautiful, rumored to be a signed streamer with a popular online platform. Qian Dasong, 35, was a typical nouveau riche who made a lot of money in the scaffolding business. Together, they had bought three houses in Shengze and drove a luxury car worth over a million RMB. In a place like Shengze, they were considered wealthy.

When they got married last year, Qian Dasong had been too busy with work to take a honeymoon. Jiang Yaoyao, still very much a young girl at heart, had been longing for a proper honeymoon for the past year. Qian Dasong, who adored her, had just finished a major project, and with a grand gesture, he decided to give her the honeymoon she’d been dreaming of.

As a game streamer who loved having fun, Jiang Yaoyao wanted her honeymoon to be different from everyone else’s. Despite planning for over a month, she still couldn’t decide on a destination. However, one thing was certain: it had to be abroad!

Her circle of friends had already been to places like Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, and the Maldives, but the farthest she had been was Hong Kong. She had long wanted to take an international trip. Qian Dasong didn’t care where they went—he was just there to indulge her. As long as she wanted to go abroad, he could afford it.

Still undecided, this was her third visit to the travel agency.

“Ms. Jiang, Mr. Qian,” Yu Suxia greeted them warmly. This particular couple was one of Spring Travel’s key clients. Yu Suxia had previously gauged that Jiang Yaoyao had her eye on VIP tours costing over 50,000 RMB, and if the deal went through, it would bring them closer to meeting the month’s target. Moreover, if they managed to impress Ms. Jiang, it could lead to further business from her wealthy friends.

With that in mind, Yu Suxia enthusiastically welcomed them.

“Any good overseas tours lately?” Jiang Yaoyao glanced around and asked indifferently. Qian Dasong had just taken on a new contract set to start in mid-August, so if she didn’t make up her mind soon, their honeymoon plans would be delayed again.

She sighed. If there wasn’t anything suitable, she would have to settle for a Maldives tour.

The Maldives had a reputation for beautiful scenery, but the destination had become too popular. For someone like Jiang Yaoyao, it wasn’t prestigious enough.

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